Sleeping Arrangements
by Ezqueza
Summary: In which the Lady Boffin does not get her way, and our favorite couple finds themselves in an awkward situation. LEMON. YOU KNOW ITS A LEMON.


"Mam, please be reasonable-"

"Absolutely _not._"

"But I don't see why the lads cant just-"

"It is imperative that my assistants have _separate cabins._"

"But we're doubled up on cabins already, with some of the ships boys sleeping in the boiler room!"

"Then _triple _up! Mr. Sharp and Mr. Hohenburg will be kept separate by all means!"

"But mam-"

"_By all means!"_

The argument had been going on for a good forty minutes, and the Lady Boffin was quite beside herself. There was, of course, no doubt Doctor Barlow would get her way in the end, but did she have to bring it up not _five minutes after boarding the ship? _The captain was right, after all, the _Naga_ was at lease two times smaller than the _Leviathan,_ and they had heard quite a few of those unfortunate ship's boys grumbling about the "Boffin and her barking Henchmen" taking up two whole cabins to themselves, then demanding a third upon arrival. A sinking feeling told Deryn that it would take a while for the hardened airmen to take to the spoiled and pampered assistants of a Lady Boffin. Already a few had snickered at the nature of a married woman traveling alone with two young, handsome boys.

Deryn stretched out her leg with a groan, still feeling it stiffen every once in a blue moon- months after she had abandoned the compress. His no-longer-serine-highness looked at her startled, as he always did when she showed the slightest sign of discomfort. His face, slightly pink from the topic at hand, scrunched up in worry, and he looked as if he would do something daft, like stroke her knee. Blisters, how _that _would look?

"Excuse me Mam," Alek coughed into a fist, "But I believe Mr. Sharp would do good with a walk about the ship."

The Lady Boffin stopped her heated debate to look horrified at her charge.

"Of course, you poor dear." She gasped, "We've been sitting in that coach for nearly an hour! Up you get, a good walk will straighten it out."

Despite her insistence that such was not the case, Deryn felt that ever since the Lady Boffin had began tutoring her in the basics of biology, she had become irritatingly similar to a fretting auntie. Regardless, a walk _would _help ease the cramp.

Ignoring Alek's arm, Deryn hauled herself from the wooden chair she sat in. The stretch made her want to cry out in pleasure, after such a long time without properly standing up, and immediately after the fabricated door slammed shut, she let out an appreciative groan, her spine crackling as she reached both fists above and behind her head.

"Does it still bother you?" He asked, worry evident behind his smirk.

"Only when it thinks I'm forgetting what a _dummkopf _I was back then." She replied, shivering as she brought her arms back to her sides.

The boy chuckled, then his complexion changed back to its reddened state. Deryn snorted.

"Don't worry, the Boffin will get her way," she said, patting him on the back, "Although the crew wont thank us for it."

"But what if she cant? What will she do?" Alek asked thoughtfully, "She can't exactly insist for a chaperone without implying a reason why, and you sleeping in her stateroom is quite out of the question."

"Worst case scenario she will make one of us share a room with one of the middies on board," Deryn said casually, "And by one of us, I mean most likely _you._"

Alek shrugged, then said:

"To be perfectly honest, I'd rather it be me as well."

"And why is that?" Deryn questioned, raising an eyebrow, "Think I'm too much of a _lady_ to handle myself? I'll have you know I shared with five barking _wolves _before you came along-"

"Its not that," Alek interrupted, then looked down bashfully, "I suppose I think that if you had to share with anyone…or rather any _male…_"

He didn't finish.

"Cuckhold!" Bovril chirped, suddenly fascinated with the conversation.

Anger flashed in Deryn's gut and she rolled her eyes in irritation. If it were that easy to persuade her than she would have shagged half the crew of the _Leviathan _before she even met the daft prince. Alek's face went white.

"T-that's not what I meant you _know _that isn't what I-"

"_In any case,"_ she cut him off, "There's no need to worry yourself your princeliness, or _you _your perspicaciousness, things'll sort out."

And then it just so happened that things _didn't _sort out. To be fair, the Captain had _tried, _using what looked like an old tarp as a makeshift curtain from one side of the room to the other, with two cots and nightstands on either side. While the both of them stood dumbstruck in the doorway, Bovril took the room immediately. Deryn snapped out of her stupor as he tried to scale the rough canvas.

"Stop that beastie!" she cried, "We need that!" Despite her efforts the rope loosened and the curtain sagged.

"My fair lady!" Bovril sang, too happy with the situation for Deryn's liking.

Alek didn't look her in the eye as he helped hang the tarp up again. Deryn tried to make light of the situation with cracks at his prudish upbringing, and politely reminding him that they had shared a room back in Isthanbul, but it still didn't shake her own feeling that she had fallen into a scandal. By the time they had rigged the room to their liking, and chosen their respective sides, the bell rang for dinner.

It took a good deal of diplomacy to warm the Lady Boffin up to the captain.

"Isn't so bad," Alek said with mock indifference, "We have our own beds, and a curtain for privacy.

This only got him a stern look as if to say: _Implying that you might've __**shared **__a bed?_

By the end of the meal the Lady Boffin had taken up conversation with the ship's surgeon, and all might have been forgiven until a ships boy offered to escort the Lady and her assistants to their staterooms. Reminded of her outrage, Doctor Barlow accepted coldly, half scaring the poor blighter to death. Deryn sighed as she undressed, feeling the weight of the evening's awkwardness slide off of her shoulders with her dinner jacket.

She tried not to pay attention to the sound of Alek's clothes hitting the floor, and likewise, undressed with the upmost care. After stripping to her undershirt, she couldn't muster the nerve to undo her trousers, and decided to blazes with it all. Half dressed and sweating from the sudden heat in the room, she flopped onto her cot.

"_Ouch!" _a curse came from behind the curtain, "Bovril what has gotten into you- _argh!"_

Deryn sat up.

"What's wrong?" she said in her best impression of indifference.

"Bovril's sitting on the bed and keeps _biting _me when I try to move him." She heard Alek call from his side.

"Then climb in around him," Deryn advised, debating if she risked crossing the boarder and helping the poor lad.

"I've tried, _ouch!- _he scratches me when I try to grab the blanket!"

There was a silence for a time.

"Are you decent?"

Deryn could have flopped back onto the bed in surprise.

"What?" she choked.

"I asked if you are…" Alek coughed, "Dressed…enough."

Deryn looked down at her undershirt. Did that count as enough? Her diddies weren't exactly hanging out but you could still see little dents in the fabric's otherwise flat surface.

"Aye," she said, shifting herself to sit cross-legged on the bed.

As he ducked around the curtain Deryn snapped her eyes down. Blisters but the daftie was _shirtless_.

They sat in the silence for a while, until Deryn, feeling quite silly, shifted her eyes to his face. This wasn't her first experience seeing a naked man of course. There had been many…occasions much worse than this one on the _Leviathan_, but somehow this felt so much worse-

'_Stop that,' _she thought madly to herself, '_You are an assistant to one of the most powerful women in England, stop mooning!'_

Alek was looking away too, realizing his mistake.

"Yes, erm, sorry I should have…_warned _you," he managed, then shakily continued, "As much as I'd like to prod Bovril until I lose a finger, I can estimate that he wont be moving…"

"I'm _not _sleeping on the floor," Deryn said flatly, her embarrassment instantly replaced with irritation.

"No!" Alek shook his hands, "I wasn't implying…" He ran his fingers though his hair.

"Then what do you suppose we do?" She asked, feeling a familiar knot in her stomach that had been all to present throughout the day.

"Perhaps you give me a blanket and pillow and _I _sleep on the floor," Alek managed, not looking at her.

"Aye then what do _I _sleep with?" Deryn asked dryly.

Apparently this thought hadn't occurred to Alek, and his blush deepened. His hand was making a rat's nest of his hair…

The silence stretched for another few minutes until Alek made a move towards the opening in the curtain.

If something was going to be done, it would have to be done now, or else Deryn would suffer his complaining the rest of the trip.

"You could sleep on my side-" she blurted, not thinking, then resisted the urge to slam her palms against her mouth.

Alek whipped his head around, startled, looking quiet abashed.

"I thought you didn't want to sleep on the floor," he muttered.

"Aye well," Deryn said, then mustered up the courage, "You could sleep next to me…?"

Alek's expression brought a new wave of heat to her cheeks.

"Of course it wouldn't be _uncomfortable _or anything!" she babbled, "Used to do it all the time with Jaspart, used to sharing a small space, you know?"

"But I'm not Jaspart," Alek said slowly, "We aren't _siblings_ Deryn."

Deryn nodded, feeling utterly ridiculous.

"Well, what _else _is there to do?"

It took a long time for Alek to back away behind the curtain, or perhaps it was just how completely exhausted Deryn was from the embarrassing conversation. She knew it would be something to laugh about tomorrow, but still. It would be hard sleeping tonight.

Then, to her surprise, he reappeared.

"Bovril's…still there," Alek said, sucking his index finger, "And I can't seem to persuade him to move."

Deryn nodded, and shifted to the side. The boy stared at the vacant place beside her then shuffled over. He bumped her elbow as he slid under the covers, forcing Deryn to conceal a short squeak.

The both of them lay there stiffly, neither daring to move. Deryn got fed up first.

"This is ridiculous," she muttered, then turned to the boy beside her, "Sit up," she ordered.

Alek obeyed, and before he had a chance to question it, she had slammed her face forcefully against his. There were a few blissful moments where the both of them understood completely the advantages of the sleeping arrangement, then Alek had the sense to shove her off.

"_Gott in Himmel!"_ he cursed, looking at her as if she were mad.

"Its like this your princeliness," Deryn said sternly, "We've done worse things than _this._ Snogged in cupboards, sat in each other's laps, and don't think I didn't feel that pat you gave me as we were leaving the apartment."

Alek gaped at the accusation, but was silenced when she put a finger to his mouth.

"My point is this is just something we have to get used to, and the fastest way to get used to it is to, you know…" she waved her hand in a small circle, _"_Get all this bleather out of our system_."_

Deryn could not tell if the nod Alek gave was with understanding, or mentally noting that she was mad.

Just as she was about to apologize and lay back down, Alek spoke up.

"I don't think I'm…Comfortable just yet then." The boy said, not meeting her eye.

"Aright then," Deryn managed, then leaned to press her lips against his.

It was a short embrace, which ended with them both looking in separate directions.

'_There that should do it goodnight' _Is what she _should _have said. But somehow the words got muddled up on the way out, and they ended up different.

"Again," she said, red faced.

Alek obliged, lingering this time, his hand warm on her knee. It was Deryn who pulled away.

They just stared at each other for a moment, then he pulled her in again.

Deryn could feel this one run down her body, fluttering at the base of her spine. Alek pulled her close, shifting to wrap his hands around her waist. In response, her arms snaked their way around his neck, and she could feel the muscles tense under her touch.

He pressed harder, she tightened her grip. At some point the girl crawled into the more familiar territory of his lap. Alek stroked her back, pulling her closer, until her weight was fully on him.

Slowly but surely, the prince leaned backwards, allowing Deryn to fall on top of him. It wasn't until Alek was fully reclined on the bed with Deryn straddling his waist that they realized what they were doing and pulled apart.

For a long time they just stared at each other, neither knowing quiet how to respond. It was Alek who broke the silence.

"I'm perfectly comfortable now," he said, shakily.

Deryn sat up, placing her hands on his bare chest. Just as she was about to swing her leg over and lie next to him, he put a hand to her hip.

"That doesn't mean I want to stop," He said carefully.

It took quite a bit of strength not to choke on her words.

"Then what do you propose, we _continue?" _Deryn asked.

The boy didn't look at her, but put a hand to her hip, and pushed her further down his body.

Deryn stiffened.

"Oh."

How uncharacteristically blunt of him.

"Does it bother you...?" Alek asked nervously, "We can stop if you want to."

"No!" Deryn said a bit too quickly, then blushed at the look he gave her, "That is, I don't want to stop."

A nervous smile tugged at Alek's lips.

"Then what _do _you want?" he asked.

Deryn blushed and looked down. A million things she could of said. The most sensible being _'I want you to go over to your own barking cot, irritable loris or no.' _But again the words came out wrong. "Keep going, I suppose."

Alek pulled her closer, his hands resting on her hips as she curled her fingers into his hair. During their time in closets Deryn had learned Alek's amusing reaction to having his hair pulled. She tugged softly, smirking as she felt the tremor go through his body.

"Why do you always do that…" He mumbled, embarrassed at his violent reaction.

Deryn didn't answer. Instead she kissed him again, and slowly but surely, rocked her hips against the slight hardness in his trousers. The result was a delightful moan from Alek, and a firmer grip on her bum.

Thoroughly encouraged, Deryn grinded her hips against him, rubbing her hands across his chest as she did. Alek broke the kiss to lean his head back, allowing her to suckle at the base of his neck. To her immense amusement, the boy growled and tightened his hold on her, jerking his hips up against hers. She sat up.

"Steady now love," she said softly, "Cant go getting too excited."

Alek opened one eye and glared up at her.

"You started it, this was all _your _idea."

Deryn cocked an eyebrow, tracing his collarbone with her finger.

"Are you complaining, your princeliness?"

"Of course not." He said, reached up to pull her down into another embrace.

It dawned on Deryn that here they were doing precisely what the Lady Boffin had feared of them, and here she was, wanting exactly what her aunties accused her of wanting back when becoming Dylan Sharp was just an idea. How scandalized they would all be, Volger too. The thought didn't bother her a squick.

Suddenly Deryn wanted to do something mad, in defiance of all those people telling her what she could and couldn't do. She sat up, lifted the hem of her shirt up over her head, and flung it aside.

Alek froze, his eyes widening as he looked at her. From what she had heard from the other middies during her first weeks aboard the _Leviathan_, young men have a particular fondness for a girl's chest, but for long moments the boy just gaped at her. Was there something wrong? She knew they were as big as other girls', but that didn't really matter did it?

"Its rude to stare," She reminded him.

Alek blinked and seemed to recover himself.

"Is it alright?" He asked, a quaver in his voice, Deryn snorted.

"You _better, _you daft prince."

Slowly his hands slid up her waist and cupped her small breasts. Despite her insistence the action still took Deryn by surprise. It wasn't the first time someone had accidentally brushed or knocked her there, but it was entirely different when the touch was deliberate. She let out a small squeak and earned a questioning look from Alek.

"Am I doing something wrong?" he asked.

Deryn smiled and shook her head.

"Not yet at least," she said, arching her back, "Keep going."

Alek obeyed, sitting up to kiss her. His left hand lingered on her chest, while the other ran down her spine, sending shivers across her skin. As he held her tighter, Deryn wrapped her arms around his neck. Again their weight shifted, and suddenly it was Deryn pinned on her back, her head almost hanging off the edge of the cot. The new position didn't seem to bother Alek much, as he moved hands to support his weight. Deryn felt a blush creep across her face. They were really doing this, weren't they? Not wanting to dawdle any longer than necessary, she began to tug at his trousers. At first the boy looked shocked at her nerve, but quickly sat back and went about unbuttoning himself. Deryn slid out from underneath him and removed the last of her own clothing, the pants joining her shirt on the floor.

Just as Deryn was about to pounce, Alek stopped her with a hand to her shoulder.

"Wait," he whispered, "If we're going to do this we might as well do it _properly_."

Deryn cocked an eyebrow. What exactly did he mean by that? Alek gripped her shoulders and guided her to the head of the bed, laying her down gently on the pillow. _Oh._

Alek sat back on his heels, resting a hand on Deryn's knee. She parted them obediently, and Alek froze again when he looked between her legs. Deryn chuckled.

"What did you expect? I am a _girl _after all."

Alek shook himself.

"If I had any doubts, they are definitely gone now," He muttered.

Alek leaned forward, positioning himself above her. His eyes flicked up to hers, as if he were asking for permission again. It seemed rather daft for him to keep doing so, it wasn't like Deryn was going to all of a sudden snap her legs shut and refuse him.

"Go on, your princeliness," Deryn said, placing her hands on his shoulders. Alek nodded, then shut his eyes and rammed his hips against hers.

"_Blisters."_

"Are you alright?" Alek asked, worry evident on his face.

Deryn forced out a chuckle.

"Of course I am," she panted, "I just... Well I don't know _what _I was expecting."

It felt strange, as if Deryn were a balloon, filled up with hydrogen to her bursting point. It hurt a bit, of course, but in a _good _way.

"Should we keep going?" Alek asked, as if he could undo what he just did.

"Of course you ninny," Deryn said, masking her expression by pulling him in for a kiss.

The second impact didn't hurt too much, igniting a buzzing feeling in Deryn's gut that seemed to light up the whole of her body. Her face broke away from his as she laid back, closing her eyes and letting the strange sensation take over.

Alek's lips touched her neck, sending shivers down her spine. As Deryn dug her nails into his back, he flinched.

"_Gods wounds,"_ Alek hissed, "That hurts, Deryn."

Deryn didn't bother to open her eyes or offer an apology, only pulled him closer, letting him fill her up again.

Eventually the slow awkward contact between them became a steady rhythm. Alek's shaky confidence was growing stronger, much like buzzing in Deryn's own body. He pushed the air from her lungs in a particularly forceful thrust, her moans only egging him on further.

As they sped up, electricity crackled over Deryn's skin. A sort of desperation was building inside her, like some Clanker boiler roaring to full power. Gasps and moans turned to cries of pleasure as Alek made love to her, his lips climbing up her neck to meet hers. He didn't seem to mind the wee scratches on his back anymore, or the fact that Deryn's fingers held his hair in a death grip.

Finally, the built up energy in Deryn's gut seemed to explode, making her muscles lock and her breath stop. The feeling racked her body, every inch of her buzzing with relief and pleasure. For a few moments she stayed like that, fists clenched and eyes shut tight, then the climax seemed to wash away, releasing her from her mania. Her head fell back onto the pillow as her body relaxed, a pleasant hum resonating through her.

Deryn heart thudded hard in her chest as she tried to catch her breath. At some point Alek rolled off of her, panting like a dog himself. For long moments they lay there in that cramped little cot, completely worn out by the night's experiment. It was Alek who broke the silence.

"Well, we've certainly gotten _that _out of our system," he chuckled, "I don't think sharing a bed will be a problem anymore."

Deryn inched herself towards him, until she was in his arms, one hand draped over his chest.

"The Lady Boffin wont thank us for it," Deryn sighed, "We'll have to convince her none of this happened."

Alek kissed her cheek.

"I don't think either of us are that good at lying," he said, simply.

Deryn sat up a bit, staring down at him. She hadn't expected him to take this so well. For all his previous worries about their predicament, he looked a bit smug.

"And you're _alright _with that?" Deryn said, "Shouldn't you be worrying about your reputation your princeliness?"

The boy shrugged.

"I can worry about that later, when I don't feel so at peace. Besides," his eyes flicked up to hers, the mad gleam in them returning, "I have no shame in sharing a bed with the woman I _intend _to marry."

Deryn lowered her head back onto his shoulder, a blush creeping across her face. Why did the bumrag have to mention _marriage?_

Eventually fatigue from the long day caught up with the both of them. Deryn supposed he was right. They had all or tomorrow to feel bad about what they had just done. Right now she felt blissfully exhausted, and it was enough just to lie here with him. A smile played on her lips. This would be an awfully long trip after all, and they'd be sharing a room for quite some time.

And for the remainder of their time aboard the _Naga,_ Bovril slept alone in Alek's bed, on the other side of an unnecessary curtain.


End file.
